May 2, 2024

New COVID-19 Vaccine Protects Against Infection and Brain Damage Caused by the Coronavirus

They discovered that the virus can infect various parts of the brain and cause brain damage. Now, utilizing a mouse design vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, scientists demonstrated the capability of SARS-CoV-2 to contaminate various areas of the brain and to cause brain damage, and how the CNB-CSIC vaccine fully safeguards against infection of the brain. To do this, they vaccinated mice with one or 2 doses of the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine, based on the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) expressing the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, and evaluated the ability to protect versus infection and damage to the brain. “Our work is the very first study of a vaccine that is 100% effective versus brain damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 in a prone mouse, and the outcomes obtained strongly suggest that the vaccine could prevent consistent COVID-19 observed in numerous people contaminated with SARS-CoV-2,” highlights Juan José Toledo-Aral.

A) Neuron of the cerebral cortex contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (viral particles in green). B and C) In B, cortical neurons infected by SARS-CoV-2 (in brown) and, in C, lack of infection in the very same brain area of mice immunized with MVA-CoV2-S. Credit: IBiS
Researchers have actually studied the development of viral infection in various brain regions, keeping in mind that viral duplication occurs mainly in nerve cells, producing neuropathological alterations such as neuronal loss, glial activation, and vascular damage. “We have actually performed a very detailed anatomo-pathological and molecular research study of the brain regions and the kinds of cells that have been contaminated by the virus. It is exceptional how the virus contaminates various locations and mainly neurons,” explains Javier Villadiego.
Once the pattern of infection in the brain by SARS-CoV-2 was developed, the scientists evaluated the efficacy of the vaccine versus COVID-19 established at the CNB-CSIC. To do this, they inoculated mice with one or 2 dosages of the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine, based on the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) revealing the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, and evaluated the ability to protect versus infection and damage to the brain.
These outcomes strengthen previous data on the immunogenicity and efficacy of the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine in various animal designs. “We had actually previously revealed in a series of publications that the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine that we established at the CNB-CSIC induces in 3 animal models (mouse, hamster and macaque) a potent immune reaction of antibodies binding to the S protein of the virus and of reducing the effects of antibodies against various variants of issue of the virus, as well as T lymphocytes activation, necessary markers for infection control,” says Mariano Esteban, CNB-CSIC researcher associated with the research study.
The outcomes have important long-term ramifications for comprehending the infection brought on by SARS-CoV-2. “The information we have actually obtained on SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain work with the neurological pathology observed in clients with COVID-19,” highlights José López-Barneo, IBiS researcher who took part in the publication. “Our work is the first research study of a vaccine that is 100% reliable against mental retardation brought on by SARS-CoV-2 in a susceptible mouse, and the outcomes gotten strongly recommend that the vaccine could avoid relentless COVID-19 observed in several people contaminated with SARS-CoV-2,” highlights Juan José Toledo-Aral.
” The data provided in this research study with complete inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 duplication in the brain moderated by the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine, together with previous studies released by the group and collaborators on the immunogenicity and efficacy of the vaccine against different variants of SARS-CoV-2, assistance stage I medical trials with such a vaccine, or similar models, to assess their security and immunogenicity,” the authors of the research study stressed.
Referral: “Full defense from SARS-CoV-2 brain infection and damage in vulnerable transgenic mice provided by MVA-CoV2-S vaccine prospect” by Javier Villadiego, Juan García-Arriaza, Reposo Ramírez-Lorca, Roberto García-Swinburn, Daniel Cabello-Rivera, Alicia E. Rosales-Nieves, María I. Álvarez-Vergara, Fernando Cala-Fernández, Ernesto García-Roldán, Juan L. López-Ogáyar, Carmen Zamora, David Astorgano, Guillermo Albericio, Patricia Pérez, Ana M. Muñoz-Cabello, Alberto Pascual, Mariano Esteban, José López-Barneo and Juan José Toledo-Aral, 9 January 2023, Nature Neuroscience.DOI: 10.1038/ s41593-022-01242-y.

Researchers just recently carried out an experiment utilizing a mouse design that is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection. They discovered that the virus can contaminate different parts of the brain and trigger mental retardation. They likewise found that the CNB-CSIC vaccine successfully prevents the virus from contaminating the brain.
The study was carried out by Spanish researchers from the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville and published in the distinguished journal Nature Neuroscience.

The main results of COVID-19 disease, triggered by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, are seen in the breathing system, numerous patients also experience considerable neurological signs such as loss of smell, headaches, malaise, cognitive loss, encephalopathy, ataxia, and epilepsy. The specific impact of the infection on the nervous system is not yet well comprehended and it is unclear whether the vaccines established to fight COVID-19 also safeguard against the spread of the infection to the central anxious system and confer protection versus brain injury.

Now, using a mouse design vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, researchers demonstrated the capability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect various areas of the brain and to trigger brain damage, and how the CNB-CSIC vaccine completely protects against infection of the brain. These findings are published in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience. The research study was performed a multidisciplinary team of Spanish scientists led by Dr. Javier Villadiego and Dr. Juan José Toledo-Aral (IBiS, CIBERNED and Department of Medical Physiology and Biophysics of the Faculty of Medicine of Seville) and Juan García-Arriaza (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology of the CIBERINFEC, pti and cnb-csic Global Health of CSIC), in collaboration with other groups from the University of Seville and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).